Lets Talk about the Weather

The only problem you may have is timing your trip so you arrive when the sun (mythical object reported to be located somewhere in the sky) is shining on Seattle (beautiful green and gray city in the Pacific Northwest (surrounded by beautiful mountains you can't see because it is raining).

God, do I appreciate the humor of that! When my parents were out here for an all-too brief visit, I tried to take them up to see the glorious splendor of Mt. Rainier; its great glaciers with veins of crystalline ice that actually sparkle blue-green. We drove up to Paradise, (which for you "foreigners") is actually located ON the mountain. You still couldn't see it. Except, of course, between your feet. It was just clouds and fog. I was inconsolable. LOL! (now)

i can understand that. my parents lived in south florida from '72 through '94. during that time both my sister and i lived in cold climates of new york and new england. we would often choose to visit them during march because we had just had it with winter. and my father always took it personally if the weather was less than south florida perfect while either one of us was there. he would apologize for weeks after we got home.

later after we moved to north florida, we found ourselves doing the same thing when family and friends came to visit us. like any of us have any say in the weather. i guess we all like to show off the beauty in nature where we live whether it's majestic mountains, rolling seas or "amber waves of grain". for all our differences, we are remarkably similar.

I know what you mean. One time I tried to convince two HUD employees from Honolulu that the beaches on the Platte River in Nebraska were comparable to the beaches in Hawaii. They almost believed until they realized, wait a minute, this crazy guy is talking about Nebraska, that flat place somewhere in the middle of the mainland. ;> In Paradise?

I remember one very cold winter when I lived in Omaha. The crazy guys on the radio decided that it would feel warmer if we were in Hawaii, so they called it the Island of O-MA-HA. We got a real kick out of it for the rest of the winter (even after the temperatures got above freezing). Next time just tell your friends you live in O-MA-HA, not Omaha. (grateful to be living in the beautiful, rainy Pacific Northwest).

I don't usually think about it until I get stuck on the isolated island of O-MA-HA, surrounded by that white, solid mass of water forming drifts, I mean waves. Then I think, why do I continue to live here? Then it comes to me. I live here for the nice warm summer days.

Of course in the middle of July with the thermometer at 100+ and I'm standing on a dusty infield in a small town somewhere in Nebraska with the hot wind burning my skin, I think, why do I continue to live here? Then it comes to me. I live here for the nice cool winter days.

If I moved to a more temperate climate, say Missouri, what would I have to complain about?

Okay Carlene, It's all yours.

Um...that's a tough one... I live in Missouri solely due to Bill refusing to move out of the state. I find it peculiar that although the Bakers have scattered to the four corners of the map, they always return to Missouri, even at the expense of some of their marriages...Personally, I am not that attached other than now I own a piece of it myself. With Bill, I sometimes believe it is the catfish... ;) He was appauled by the idea that there are no catfish in Minnesota, but there were these fish with teeth. :)

Yet, on these really hot, humid, awful days called summer, I dream of a nice cold Iowa snow drift. :) Then, when we do get dumped on by the snow fairy, I dream of a nice warm Iowa summer day. Why Iowa? The humidity factor does not come into play unless there has been rain that day. The nights were cool, even in the summer. Bill says the wind always blows up there, which was not a bad thing unless your neighbor had a lot of livestock. :) In Minnesota, with the state bird being the mosquito, the summer nights were cold, with this moving smog-like haze buzzing the sky, even during the day light hours.

On days like today, when we start with the thermometer reading of 82, the only complaint is when the air conditioning doesn't work. :)

Oh, come on ...use your imagination. The particular addage that you hear in St. Louis is: "If you don't like the weather here, wait a minute...it'll change."